Something's Gotta Give
by AvalonHeights
Summary: Being a ranger is hard enough, but try being one when you're on the run. Jason needs to get out of Angel Grove as soon as possible to protect his family and friends and to correct his mistake. When too much pressure builds up... something's gotta give and the fallout may be too hard to handle.
1. Chapter 1

**Something's Gotta Give**

**Summary – Being a ranger is hard enough, but try being one when you're on the run. Jason needs to get out of Angel Grove as soon as possible to protect his family and friends and to correct his mistake. When too much pressure builds up...** **something's** **gotta** **give and the fallout may be too hard to handle.**

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**Chapter 01**

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Jason's hands shook as he stuffed clothes into this duffel bag. He forced himself to take a deep breathing and ran both of them through his hair, resting them on top of his head. Closing his dark eyes he took a few couple breaths, trying to make himself calm down. His hands still shook, resembling jostled bowls of Jell-o. His knees started to shake, forcing him down onto the side of his bed. He moved his hands to cover his face and continued to take deep breaths, all until his breathing evened out and the shaking stopped. Thank god the shaking stopped; if he kept going…he wouldn't be sure he would have the guys to do it. But he needed to; he needed to get out a soon as possible. Later that night, early the next morning, under the cover of darkness was the best way to go.

Jason looked at his watch; he needed to keep packing if he was going to get there on time. Jason stood up and went back over to his dresser, grabbing a few more t-shirts. He glanced over his shoulder, his cell phone letting out a peal that caught his attention, and he grabbed it as he passed by his desk.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Zack! Man, when are you getting here? The party's just getting started!" In the background, Jason could hear Kimberly and Trini laughing and Billy's and Tommy's cries of protest mixing in with it as well. "You should see what the girls are doing."

"I can imagine it has something to do with makeup," Jason said with a chuckle. He ran a hand through his hair and started to pace the room. "I only made that mistake once, turning my back on them when I thought they were unarmed." This time he laughed along with Zack. "Yeah, I just have a few more things to do here and then I'll be over there in a few minutes."

"See you, man," Zack said. Now it was his turn to chuckle. "I'll try to keep Trini and Kim at bay until you get here, but if I'm a goner, I'm letting you know that you're my best friend."

Jason swallowed a thick lump in his throat. "Yeah…" he said quietly. "Yeah, I know. Thanks Zack." Zack made a sound in the back of his throat, a low 'hm' sound but hung up without asking Jason about the change in his tone. Jason hung up his phone and checked his bag for the third time before zipping it up completely. He then grabbed his wallet and his keys before going back to his bag. Lifting it off of his bed, he walked over to the window and opened it as far as it would go, then threw the duffle bag to the ground. He closed the window, took another deep breath, and headed downstairs. "Mom, I'm going over to Kim's place, I'll be back later!" He said to his mother, Marissa, as she stood by the counter, flipping through mail.

Mrs. Scott turned to her son with a bright smile that radiated her beauty even more. "Have fun, Jason. But please try not to stay out too late; you know your father is still a bit testy about what happened last time."

Despite the nerves that still rocked his guts, Jason managed a light laugh. He and his friends had been studying for their mid-terms and thinking that it would keep them away, they had ingested numerous amounts of sugar filled candy as well as a couple of mugs of coffee—which was also filled with sugar and crème as they didn't particularly like the taste of coffee—and managed to stay up for over twenty-four hours. Even when Jason had gone back home, he kept everyone awake from his jitters and constantly moving mouth. How he managed to pass his tests before passing out, he wasn't sure, but they had promised to never make that mistake again.

"I won't Mom, I promise," Jason said. He leaned over and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek, the pressure against his mother pushed his power morpher into his stomach. "But I might be a little late, it depends if I need to give someone a ride back home or something."

Mrs. Scott let out a playful sigh. "Alright, but if you _are_ going to be late please call home first so we won't worry." Jason smiled at her and she grinned as well. The both knew she didn't have to worry about him; he was always responsible enough to let his parents know whatever he was doing or where he was going even when he was a kid. When he had first gotten his license he even went as far as to call them each time he had left the house to let them know how long it would take to get there and when he was leaving his destination to return home. Leonard Scott eventually had to sit Jason down and remind his son that he didn't have to call for every little thing.

Jason merely shrugged and smiled at his father, letting him know that he'd back off a bit. But Jason was always the responsible one. The thought alone made Jason's smile fade a little bit. How were his parents going to react if they found out…_when_ they found out? There was no doubt about that, they were going to find out and they were going to be disappointed. How could a lawyer not be disappointed that his son ended up making a mistake as bad as he did? He tried to reassure himself the best he could, but he knew it would be better if he could get out of town for a while.

"Honey? Are you OK? You've gone kind of pale," Mrs. Scott said. She reached out a hand and placed it on Jason's forehead then cupped his face with her hands. Jason held his breath as he looked back into his mother's eyes, hoping they wouldn't give anything away. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

"No, I'm fine." Jason gently pushed her hand away, shaking his head. "I'm OK, Mom, don't worry about me." _Please don't worry about me. Everything is explained in the note I left in my room. I just hope you don't see it until I'm long gone. _He gave her another smile, pulling back away from her. "I've got to get going or I'm going to be late." He leaned in and gave her another kiss. "Love you, Mom."

Mrs. Scott gave Jason a funny look. "I've you too, sweetie," she said.

Jason paused as he turned away from her. "See you, later." He completely turned away from her and walked out of the kitchen and through the picture lined hallways. Photos of him and his mother and father as he grew up along with photos of him and his friends all smiles or in costumes for Halloween, or exchanging gifts they had for each other. Each one sent another pang of guilt that radiated through his bones and landed in his stomach with a sickening thud, making his muscles slam tightly together. He could stop right there and confess everything and hope for the best…

Jason bit his lower lip and forced himself to look away from the photos and continue out the front door. Closing the door behind him, his eyes shifted back and forth scanning the yard. He wasn't sure what he was looking for exactly, a person or a squad car, or the FBI or something. That may have been reaching a little bit, but no one said that your imagination stayed with you when you were practically turning to a puddle of goo on the inside. Jason scooped his duffle bag off of the ground in mid-stride and continued to his car. Popping open the trunk he threw the bag inside and slammed it shut with the flat of his palm. He climbed into the front seat of his car, turned it on, and peeled out down the road, heading towards Kimberly's house.

He wanted to have a little bit of fun before everything went to hell.

And it was only a matter of time before it did.

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**A/N: **Cliffhanger for the first chapter…mwahaha! I hope you guys liked the chapter and are interested in what the story will bring. I'm working on the next chapter to _All The Blame _as well.

-**Avalon**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

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Jason sat outside Kimberly's house, leaning back in his seat, angled to the side, looking up at the sky. Even though the haze that covered the city, due to the constant monster attacks that had plagued the city since Rita had come back from her banishment in her space dumpster, covered the sky, he was able to see the stars twinkling brightly above him. Each and every one glittered and sparkled as he watched, as if they were winking at him, knowing what he was going to do and giving him some sort of hope. They were as beautiful as ever and yet, they didn't ease the anxiety that was brewing inside Jason. All he had to do was go inside, hang out with his friends for a while, and then he could get going. Turning away from the window, he shook his head, the thought of disappearing like that, all of a sudden; it was the only thing that was momentarily keeping him from going inside.

If he didn't go in, he didn't have to leave.

If he didn't go in, he didn't have to leave his friends and family behind with nothing but questions.

If he didn't go in…

Jason sighed as his cell phone started to ring. He glanced down at the caller ID and saw that it was Zack again. _He probably got tied to a chair and had makeup put on him. _Jason laughed at the thought and reached into the passenger seat, picking up his phone. He answered it and let out a sigh before putting on a cheery voice. "I'm just outside, dude; I'll be there in a minute."

"I'm just warning you when you get here, man, these girls are completely crazy," Zack said, though he was laughing a little bit.

"I could have told you that," Jason replied. "We've been friend with them for how long and you're only just realizing it?" He looked at his watch and reached for the door handle to get out of his car. "I'm heading in now." He hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket. Taking one last deep breath, he pumped the door handle and climbed out of the low sitting car, slamming the door behind him. He walked up the front steps and knocked on the door, knowing full well he could just open the door and walk inside. Having been friends with Kimberly for so long, he knew he could come and go as he pleased, Mrs. Hart loved him as a son and was always pleasantly surprised to see him whenever he made an unexpected visit.

"Oh, Jason!" Mrs. Hart gave her the bright smile that always graced her features whenever her daughter's friends were around. "It's good to see you." She took a step forward and gave Jason a kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush. "You know you don't have to knock, you can just come in."

"I know," Jason said politely.

He stepped inside and wiped his shoes before taking them off and adding them to the lines of shoes by the front door. Looking at them he could see that everyone was already there. He figured he would have made it there a bit earlier; he probably dragged slower than he thought. Jason glanced over his shoulder, studying the dark shadows that stretched across the lawn and across the walkway and front porch. His eyes then moved to the light above the porch, it was usually on at this time of night…Jason's hands started to flood with sweat.

Mrs. Hart must have noticed Jason's gaze for she gave a light chuckle and a dismissive wave of her hand. "We've been meaning to change that light bulb, it's no big deal." She placed a hand on Jason's arm and turn him around to lead him inside. "Come on in, everyone's waiting for you." Jason gave her a quick smile before going down to the basement, where he could hear hysterical laughter increasing with each step he took. As soon as he reached the basement floor, he understood why everyone was laughing. Tommy was lounging around on the couch, his face completely—and seemingly professionally—made up with makeup, Billy, sitting on the floor, had bright blue smudges over the top of his eyes and his lips were a bright red, and Zack, who was sitting on the couch with Tommy, was frowning in a compact mirror, staring at the makeup that was smudged over his face.

"That's what you get when you try to put on your makeup and drive at the same time," Jason teased, clasping his hand down on Zack's shoulder. Zack lowered the mirror and glared up at Jason, causing Jason's lips to twitch and he moved a hand up to cover his mouth. The blush that was smeared over his cheeks made his eyes stand out even more, couple with the bright pink eye shadow that had been put on as well. Jason looked up towards Kimberly, Trini, and Avalon Mitchell. "I'm sure you girls had a blast," he said, noticing the makeup brushes and cases sitting on top of the couch.

"They're stronger than they look," Billy said, rubbing his arm where a bright red line sat across his bicep. "Especially all at once."

"Don't turn your back on them, dude," Tommy added. "As soon as you take your eye off them, they'll jump you and tie you to a chair."

Zack laughed obnoxiously before turning a half-glare over at Tommy. "Please! You were the one that volunteered to get it done first. All Kim had to do was bat her eyelashes and pout and you're putty in her hands." He shook his head, facing Jason again. "Seriously, it was pathetic."

"Oh come on guys, it was fun," Trini said, walking over to give Jason a hug. She then glanced at the boys before turning back to Jason. "We didn't have to tie them down," she added in a low whisper. "They all volunteered to have it done as long as we promised not to talk about boys so much around you all."

Jason moved a hand over his mouth, pretending to bite his fingernails. "Oh no, now how am I going to hear what you girls _really_ think of me?"

"I can tell you what I think of you," Avalon spoke up with a smirk. Kimberly glanced at her and elbowed the orange ranger in the side, causing her to give the pink ranger a glare as she rubbed her ribs, trying to soothe away the pain. "Man, for a girl that does gymnastics so much and has muscles to spare, you have such bony elbows." This resulted in another elbow to the ribs. "Ow! Kim!"

"Anyway, we were wondering where you were," Kimberly said, taking Jason's arm and leading him over towards the couch, forcing him to sit down.

Jason eyed her warily as Trini and Avalon walked over as well, sitting down on the other empty spaces of the couch. Jason looked down at the black leather as he shifted his weight on the seat. To say that Kimberly's mother didn't skimp on expenses was an understatement. The Harts were one of the few families in Angel Grove that were well off and were nice. They didn't throw their wealth in anyone's faces though they didn't particularly have to worry about anything money related as long as they lived there. Jason felt his throat become thick with a lump that lodged in his throat. He just _had _to think about money. He just _had _to bring up the memory again.

Jason closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He could practically feel the gloved hand move over his mouth and nose once more; feel the strength of the arm that was pressed against his throat, cutting off his oxygen. He remembered the way his head swam and his vision started to darken, no matter how hard he tried to them off. He had been practicing martial arts almost since he could walk and he hadn't been able to knock the guy off him until he back peddled and knocked him into the wall behind him, loosening his grip. He knew it was a risky move, endangering everyone around him. Granted, it was a risky move being around the other rangers now as it was.

"Hey, space cadet!" Avalon's Australian accent reached Jason's ears as she waved a hand in his face. He blinked and lifted his gaze to look at her. Her dark eyes flashed with mischief as she placed her hands on her hips. "I knew there wasn't much in your head as it was, but that's the quietest that I've ever heard you, and that's saying something."

Jason rolled his eyes. There never seemed to be a day when Avalon didn't make fun of him for something. She could even make fun of the wa he breathed if she tried hard enough, he wouldn't put it past her. Ever since she had transferred to Angel Grove high, became friends with the rangers, and became a ranger herself, she seemed to make it her personal mission to cut him down at almost every turn. But she did round out the other rangers pretty well; she was sarcastic, witty, and blunt, could be girly with the girls, and a tomboy with the guys, liked to laugh, and when it came down to it, she was a good fighter that really helped the rangers out. She had hit a few bumps in the road at the beginning, having been in a local gang to be able to stay in Angel Grove, with the help of her friends, she had quickly learned how bad it was for her and her sister, Bailey, and separated herself from it the best she could.

When Jason didn't give her any sort of a response other than his rolled eyes, Avalon frowned as she studied him, her eyes moving back and forth, searching his. There was definitely something off if he didn't have any way to respond to her taunt, to put her in her place. Granted, it was a weak shot in general, as he was the type of person that could be as serious as he could be energetic and outgoing. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Jason then smiled over at Trini and Kimberly. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kimberly lunging towards him with a blush brush and he brought his hand up, knocking it out of the pink ranger's hand with speed and precision. "Nice try!"

Kimberly pouted and dropped her arms. "Fine." She flopped down on the couch next to Tommy and giggled at her boyfriend, giving him a kiss on the cheek before leaning into his side as he put his arm around her. "So what do you guys want to do now?"

"We could watch a movie," Billy suggested.

"But that's a Friday tradition thing," Trini protested. "And it's Saturday, we need to do something different." She brushed her hair out of her face, pushing her yellow headband up her forehead as she did so. She then jumped as Zack got to his feet, loudly clapping his hands together.

"Sweet! Then we can get some gaming in!" He leapt towards Kimberly's game system and started to set it up. Jason laughed at Zack's enthusiasm, resting his arms on his knees. Tommy and Billy moved to the floor to take the controllers that Zack passed out to them. Jason took the one that Zack pressed into his hand and the red ranger sat down on the floor along with the other boys. He could hear Kimberly and Trini mutter 'boys' under their breaths before starting to laugh to themselves. Avalon joined the boys on the floor, sitting as close to the TV as possible to watch the game play unfold.

He couldn't even concentrate on the game…whatever it was. He was so stuck in his mind, thinking about the last minute things he was going to have to do before he left. What was he going to do with his morpher and communicator? That was his last biggest worry…what if there was a monster attack while he was gone and the other rangers got wasted? It would be his fault; he wouldn't have been there to help. Then again, Zordon could pinpoint his exact location easily, if he kept the communicator on, and he could easily be brought back to Angel Grove by teleportation, even if it was against his will. _It'd probably better if I leave it, _Jason reasoned. _That way I wouldn't have to risk bringing the others in to my problems. _And if Rita ever did attack, she would probably send a monster to attack him because he'd be by himself. It was just keeping the secret of being a ranger while being on the run that was problem as well as his final destination.

Where was he going to go and how was he going to get there? If he took his car, the plates could easily be run and he would be recognized. Those that were savvy in the world of law knew what he looked like, his father was that high up in the system. Something that he had been proud about before was something that could potentially end up ruining his life. How would his parents react? Their only son in jail…maybe not jail, maybe he would be fined a lot. He'd ask Billy, but that would create too much suspicion as to why he wanted to know, too many questions. Billy was smart and he was perceptive, though there were other things that he wasn't particularly good at; being sports, social interaction with people that didn't understand his scientific jargon, and girls. If he hadn't had finally asked Trini out, he honestly didn't think that he ever would without some sort of a push from Kimberly. He had been excited for them when he had first heard the news, knowing how much the two of them liked each other, and was even a little frustrated with how they wouldn't say anything to each other.

Well, in a way it was better that Tommy and Kimberly. He was glad when the two of them had gotten together, always having seen Kimberly as a little sister to him. He even went as far as to pretend to be Kim's boyfriend before Tommy had arrived, to keep the creeps and losers at bay, thinking they would have had a chance with the pink ranger. When she and Tommy had started to date he was happy for her, he had never seen her smile as much…but being a big brother figure came a price when he became overprotective of her, especially when the two of them got into a fight. It was difficult, wanting to be on Kim's side and protect her, but also wanting to be on Tommy's side as he was one of his best friends as well. Jason's stomach clenched when a image of Kim's hurt expression filled his head, after she found out he had skipped town. He knew she would be devastated for losing one of her friends, for not being trustworthy enough to be confided in, and because she would worry about him until he got back.

_I can't seem to win, _Jason thought. He jumped as an explosion sounded and he watched the character he was playing as get blasted off screen. Zack laughed in triumph and Jason placed his controller on the ground and wrapped his arms around his knees to watch. Even then he couldn't focus. As his friends were laughing, joking around, and having a good time, he couldn't get over the feeling he was being watched. It wasn't like Rita's watching them from the Lunar Palace; this was a more sinister feeling, causing cold shivers to run down his spine. No matter how many times he rubbed his arms or looked around, knowing nothing was there, he couldn't calm down. His feet started to tap, his fingers starts to twitch, his palms continued to fill with sweat, and he couldn't stop looking at his watch.

Could he really do this? What would be the immediate reaction? Would his parents immediately notice he was gone? Hopefully they wouldn't become aware anything was up until he was long gone. As it was, he was planning on getting to Vegas in a couple of hours, laying low as long as he needed to, and then leaving that area as well. He wasn't sure what his final destination was going to be, as long as he could get far away as fast as possible, to a place where no one would think of him going, he would be fine.

For the next couple of hours, Jason played video games, ate, and watched TV with his friends, trying to keep out of his mind as long as possible, knowing his mood would noticeable shift downwards enough so that his funk would be noticed. He put on a brave face and with a cheerful mask, he continued to hang out with his friends long enough until it was time for him to get home. As he pulled on his shoes, he looked up as Billy took Avalon's arm and pulled her aside.

"Do you mind going back by yourself?" He asked under his breath, fidgeting with his jacket. He glanced at Trini over his shoulder. "I wanted to walk Trini home."

Avalon shrugged into her black jean jacket and gave Billy a warm smile. "No worries, I can walk by myself." She tugged her dark hair lose from the collar of her jacket and rapidly raised and lowered her eyebrows. "But when you get back, I want to hear all about."

Jason chuckled to himself as Billy rolled his eyes. Billy and Avalon had become best friends over the time that she had been living in Angel Grove. After the truth of her home life had gotten out, that hers and Bailey's parents weren't around and they were being evicted from their apartment, Billy had immediately jumped in to offer them to stay at their place and she and Bailey had been living there ever since. He figured that their complete differences in personality would have caused some problems while living together, but they really seemed to be enjoying it. Jason stood up from putting on his shoes and looked around the group; Kimberly and Tommy were talking quietly, staring into each other's eyes and smiling at each other, as per usual oblivious to everyone around them, Billy was going to be walking Trini home and Zack lived in the opposite direction.

As much as he wanted to get going, he wasn't going to allow her to walk back to the house by herself at night. "I'll take you back, Av," he offered with a shrug, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. "I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Cranston wouldn't like knowing that you went by yourself." He didn't need to add that his parents would have gone ballistic as well; they made sure that he knew how to treat girls with respect and to help them avoid any signs of danger. If walking alone at night wasn't an indicator of danger, he didn't know what was. "I'd feel sorry for whatever loser thought it'd be a good idea to mess with you. He'd probably be sent to the hospital." As he laughed along with his friends, he turned his face away.

He could still picture the guy being taken away on a stretcher.

Jason shook his head and turned back to the group and Avalon moved to his side, arms crossed over her chest, which seemed ot be her signature stance. "I have to admit, that was a good one," she said, fully aware of how intimidating she could be. The first time that one of the rangers, it had been Tommy if Jason remembered correctly, brought it up to her, she was actually pretty upset about it, thinking that no one wanted to be around her because they couldn't get her sense of humor. She didn't realize it was because of her outward appearance and personality. It was one of the few times that he or the other rangers had seen her become insecure and vulnerable as she usually tied her best to stay upbeat and tough. "Thanks," she added.

"No problem, it's not far," Jason replied. He looked at his watch again. "I'll see you guys later." He thought about giving his girl friends a hug and his guy friends and high-five good bye, but figured it would bring too much attention to himself. He angled his head to the door and gave his friends a quick, "later guys" before leaving the house. Keeping his face forward, his eyes moved back and forth across the grass once more. There seemed not to be any sign of anyone. Jason shook his head and let out a loud sigh. Only a couple of hours and he was already starting to lose his mind with paranoia and anxiety. It would be funny if it wasn't so nerve wracking.

"Ok, what's the matter with you?"

Jason looked up to see that they had arrived at his car and Avalon was waiting for him to unlock the door. Looking around, he noticed that the other rangers had already left and he and Avalon were the only ones there. As Jason looked at her, Avalon tilted her head to the side, moving her dark hair out of her dark eyes and narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. Jason licked his lips, wondering what she could be talking about; he swallowed thickly, opting to go with innocence. "What are you talking about?"

"Uh, we've been standing at the car for, like, almost ten minutes, yeah?" Avalon replied. She placed her hands on her hips. "And you haven't moved to unlock the car. You've been like that all night, what's going on?"

"Nothing." Jason moved to unlock the car and Avalon slapped her hand down onto his wrist, forcing his arm back to his side.

"Wrong answer," she said in a low tone. "I've been watching you all night and-"

"That's good to know," Jason grinned, teasing her. Avalon rolled her eyes. "At least now I know that I really am better looking than you say I am."

"Don't push it," she murmured. "Now, tell me what's going on. I'm actually starting to get worried. Normally you're about as energetic as Zack is when it comes to video games and you continuously got your ass handed to you. What's going on, mate? Really?"

Jason's smile then faded and he shook his head. Maybe telling her was a good thing. That way he'd have someone on his side and would be able to help him keep it from everyone else. He wouldn't tell her everything, of course not, that would open up an even bigger can of worms. He would tell her what needed to be told, but keep everything else on a need to know basis. And they didn't need to know. "It's just…something happened today and…all I can say is that I'm going to be gone for a while."

"Something like a monster attack?" Avalon questioned. She then shook her head. "Actually, I don't know anyone that would be able to go a day and _not_ know about a monster attack in Angel Grove." Despite the circumstances, Jason chuckled a little. She was telling the truth on that point. Angel Grove had even created an emergency evacuation plan, as soon as there was a sighting of a monster the whole city would be emptied out and the power rangers would get to work. Sometimes it was funny to see how his mother would gush and get so excited about seeing them in the newspaper the next day.

If only she knew that her son was one of them.

He couldn't tell her though, that was one of the rules of being a power ranger, no one could figure out your identity. Bailey Mitchell was the only exception, as her sister had no choice but to morph to save her from a monster that was attacking her. Zordon, having watched her for a while, had given her the opportunity to work in the Command Center as the rangers' technical advisor, working alongside Billy and Alpha.

"No, it wasn't a monster attack," Jason said quickly. He didn't have time to explain this. "Something happened, while I was doing an errand for my mom. Someone got hurt…I didn't have a choice but to defend myself. But they got hurt really bad and it was my fault…and, the news is going to get out soon, but I have to get out of Angel Grove."

Avalon blinked at him. "So someone got hurt, which his bound to happen at some point or another considering you're a black belt, and you need to leave Angel Grove over that?" Jason gritted his teeth as Avalon shook her head. "Sorry, mate, but that's not a big deal."

Jason felt like screaming. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders, shake her, and tell her everything that had happened. It was more than him just hurting someone, much more than that. He wound's have been so upset if that was the only thing that was the problem. The person getting hurt wasn't it; it was everyone else finding out, on top of all of that. "You don't understand," Jason practically hissed.

"Clearly, I don't."

"They saw me." At Avalon's blank look Jason took a step towards her and lowered his voice. "They saw me de-morph from being a power ranger. I didn't have a choice while I was there. Something was being robbed…I didn't have a choice…I had to step in…" He gave her a meaningful look. "They _saw_ me."

Avalon's mouth dropped open into a tiny 'o' and a slight sound of surprise came out of her mouth. As Jason watched her, he could see the graveness of the situation get to her. He hadn't told her everything, not even close, but he knew she got it. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to leave," Jason replied. "After taking you back to the Cranston's, I'm going to get into this car and I'm going to drive as long as I can to get out of here. I think I'll be somewhere in Nevada by the time it's morning." He didn't want to tell her exactly where he was going, not when everything had such high stakes tacked onto it.

Avalon gave him a skeptical look. "You're not going to get far in you're goingin your own car, mate," she said, matter-of-fact. "I mean, your parents will find you and your car missing, first thing they're going to do is run your plates and track you that easily. Especially if they bought the car for you."

Jason impatiently motioned for her to get into the car. He didn't want to risk Kim or his mom seeing that they were still outside the house. He didn't want anyone else brought into his problems at the moment. He was already starting to regret telling Avalon about it. Once the two were inside and both doors were closed and locked, Jason started up his car and peeled out, heading towards the Cranston's house. "So what's your suggestion?"

"You got another car or something?"

"A motorcycle actually," Jason replied.

"Switch the plates with it," Avalon said simply. "It's the easiest way for the car to be turned up without it being mentioned as stolen. It'll buy you more time anyway." Jason glanced at her, noticing a strange expression slide over her face. "It always works," she added quietly.

_That's it, _Jason thought. She was thinking about all of the bad things that she had done when she was still in the Vipers. Technically, she was still in the gang, though working her way out. She had explained to the rangers that getting out was a lot harder than staying in and she was doing it in the least violent way possible, though there was still the possibility of danger if they wanted revenge on her leaving them. Jason had seen her get pulled back and forth from being a ranger to being in the gang and trying to be loyal to both, before turning her loyalty completely over to the rangers. She was probably trying t solidify her decision more by telling him the tricks of the trade.

"Thanks," Jason murmured.

They drove along in silence for a while before Avalon spoke up again. What she said nearly made Jason swerve off the road. "So, when do we leave?"

"_We?" _ He repeated. At Avalon's nod, he shook his head. "No. No way, I'm doing this myself. It's my own problem."

"But if you're trying to get out of Angel Grove so badly, then it means that it's something bigger than you're willing to tell," Avalon reasoned. "Especially considering that you're planning on crossing state lines." Jason pressed his lips into a thin line. Why did he have to tell her? He could have kept his mouth shut and ridden off into the night, no questions asked, no problems. Now he had that extra baggage. "And if you're trying not to get caught, do you really think that they're going to be looking for a girl to be with you?"

"And I bet that no one else would be looking for you, either," Jason murmured. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he closed his eyes. He hadn't meant to say it, the stress and anxiety that plagued him had it come out in a nastier mood than he intended. "Sorry…I shouldn't have said that," he apologized.

"Yeah, but you're right," Avalon said quietly. "No need to sugar coat it. Only Bay would wonder where I went and I can deal with her. Billy can look after her while I'm gone." She held up a hand as Jason opened his mouth to protest again. "And, you wouldn't have had the idea of switching plates if it wasn't for me."

Jason exhaled sharply. "I'm not going to be able to change your mind, am I?"

"No," Avalon said.

"God, you're so stubborn," Jason murmured, shaking his head. He had liked that bout her at first, it was a trait that had made them narrowly defeat a couple of monsters, not willing to stop until they found their weakness.

But with something like this…

It may as well have been his own death sentence.

"Just let me get to the house and grab some things before we go," Avalon continued, slouching down and crossing her legs at the knee. "And I'd need to leave a note so the Billy and them don't freak out. I'll just say that I went back to Oz for something. I don't know, I'll think of something."

"I don't know, Av, I think it'd be better if I went al-"

"You're not getting rid me and that's that," Avalon snapped. "Even so, if you _did _leave me behind, I'd tell everyone what you don't want them to know. And then you wouldn't be able to leave."

Jason's heart sank. "You wouldn't."

"I would."

Jason gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "Fine," he ground out.

He could find a way to deal with this, besides; maybe having her along wasn't a bad idea. Ike she said, they wouldn't expect him to be traveling with her anyway. As it was, it seemed that the two didn't stop trading disparaging remarks or weren't teasing each other about something, so no one would expect them to suddenly run off together. At this point, he didn't particularly care. He just wanted to get away so he could clear his head and fix his mistake.

And maybe leave the darkness behind him as well…

* * *

**A/N: **This story contains a couple of tiny spoilers to my other story _All The Blame_ but they're so tiny you probably guessed them to happen easily. Also, those looking for my other story _Giving Up The Game_, I deleted that so I could mush it in with some future chapters of _All The Blame. _

Anyway, this story is going to get pretty dark at some times, so if there needs to be a warning tag, I'll put that up. Thanks for the favorites and alerts and thanks to _XoxMountainGirlxoX, brankel1, and Keren Olivero _for reviewing. Next chapter should be up soon, I have it planned so far that chapters will go and back and forth from Jason to the other rangers, but I might change it up a little.

I promise the next chapter will be longer, my first ones are always kind of short.

-**Avalon**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 03**

* * *

"OK, I'll be back in a minute."

Avalon unbuckled her seat belt and pushed open the passenger side door. Without a backwards glance, she slammed the door shut and hurried across the front lawn and into the Cranston's house. Jason watched the dark house for a few moments, only looking away when the light on the top floor turned on and he saw Avalon's silhouette appear and disappear in front of the window. Jason turned away from the window and leaned back in his seat, staring in front of him. The dark road in front of him appeared to darken the longer he stared at it. It was only when he shifted his eyes that the shadows retreated back to their original places, much like a children's game; they could only move when they weren't being looked at.

A few moments passed and Jason started to drum his finger on the steering wheel. It started out in a rhythmic beat, playing along to one of his favorite songs. He mentally ran through as many of his favorite songs as he could; trying to keep the reality of the situation from weighing heavily on him. The moment he allowed the thoughts to seep into his brain, he knew it would be all over. He wouldn't leave and he would have problems following him for as long as he could imagine the secret of being a power ranger getting out would create. Letting out a heavy sigh, Jason dropped his hands to his lap. His fingers bumped his power morpher, immediately lowering his gaze from the street down to the morpher. Jason picked it up and looked it over.

As he held it in his hands, the power coin glowed, reflecting a bright, red, light. Jason turned the power morpher this way and that, even when the coin was in the shadows, it continued to flash that red light as if it managed to grab a jagged piece of the street light around him. The power coin was the source of the power that allowed them to morph into the power rangers. Without it, they were helpless. Without it, they didn't have the power to defeat what monster Rita and Zedd sent their way, they didn't have the power to conceal their identity when things got tough. It was the power coin that, partially, got him in this mess. If it hadn't had been knocked out of the morpher, if he hadn't fought to get it back, if he hadn't been forced to morph then and there…none of this would have happened.

But could he really blame the power coin? It was the thing that had given them all of those adventures over the years. Being a power ranger was the ultimate rush as well as the ultimate sense of responsibility. Jason was already responsible, knowing how to balance his martial arts with school and the other clubs and extracurricular activities he was involved in. But being a power ranger took up so much more time and energy. Who knew when a monster attack was going to occur? Who knew who or what would be the next target for a fight, battle, or some sort of magic that was going to influence the outcome of the situation? Jason gritted his teeth and tightened his grip around the power morpher. His secret was out, someone knew that he was a ranger, and everything was about to come crashing back down.

Jason opened his eyes and uncapped his hands. He made his decision. This one was easier than deciding that he was going to get away, clear his head, and figure out where to go from there. There was no question about this one. It was a liability and he couldn't afford any hiccups in his plan at the moment. Jason took off his power morpher and placed it on the dashboard of his car. He then lifted his right hand and unbuckled the latch on his communicator. That was the harder one to take off. It was the only link between him and his friends. Billy was the one that made it; it was the key that connected them all if they weren't physically together. Just like their personalities did; Tommy was the leader, Zack the jokester, Billy the smart one, Kimberly the sweet one, Trini the level-headed one, Jason the determined one, and Avalon the sarcastic one. Somehow they all managed to round out each other and if one of them wasn't around at the time, it was like they were all missing something.

They fell apart when they weren't together.

In this case, it may just save them all.

Jason looked at the communicator on his wrist for a long moment before taking it off and placing it on the dashboard next to his communicator as well. _I hope you guys don't hate me for this_. Jason pressed his lips together, a lump appearing, thick and tough, in his throat. He barely looked over as the passenger side door opened again and Avalon flopped inside, breathing heavily from her jog to and from the house. She tossed a bag into the backset and pulled the car door shut. Pulling her seatbelt across her face, she caught glimpse of Jason's intense stare in the streetlight.

"What's up?" She asked slowly, her movements just as slow, as if any slight movement would cause him to lash out at her.

"Do you have your communicator on you?" His question was a whispered breath, so quiet that Avalon almost didn't hear him. When the question registered, she gently shook her head, and then held up her right arm.

"Yeah, I always have it," she said.

"Take it off." Jason's voice was low and dark, trying to hide the emotion that was working to force its way up his throat and out in the open. The more he tried to swallow the lump away, the thicker it got, moving closer to his mouth.

Avalon gave him a crazy look. "Why?"

"Just do it." Jason reached up and gripped both hands on the steering wheel once more. He tightened his grip so his knuckles turned white. Then he let go of his grip and all the blood came rushing back. He tightened his grip once more. White. Blood. White. Blood. White. Blood.

Over and over.

"No." Avalon stubbornly moved her hand behind her back. Jason looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Avalon shook her head. "No," she repeated. "Not until you tell me why." She held him in her level gaze. "You already agreed that I'm going with you, I know I'm risking that, but you're also risking your chance to get out of here. You have to trust someone while you're out there and, frankly, from the way I can see this going, we're only going to have each other." She paused long enough for Jason to take a deep breath through his nose. "That is, if you don't trust the others."

The challenge hung in the air.

Jason snorted. "I do trust them, I trust them with my life," he said. "Tommy, Kim, Billy, Trini, Zack...we've all been through too much not to trust each other…" he trailed off, suddenly understanding what she was getting at. Stubbornly, he shook his head. "I trust them," he repeated. "But they can't know. Not yet. Not until we're far enough away. Not until I can't be found…" he lifted a hand and pointed at his communicator. "I can't have that…someone sees a morpher on me…they'll know. If I have the communicator, Alpha, Zordon, or Billy will have the ability to bring me back to the Command Center and that'll put the rest of you guys at risk. I can't have that."

"So you need to leave the communicators behind," Avalon said slowly. Jason made a sound of agreement then Avalon's eyes widened. "_And _our morphers?!"

"My morpher," Jason corrected.

"That's fucking suicide!" Avalon cried, her voice catching in her throat. "You've gone insane, mate! What if something happens? What if you need the power? Wha…wha-"

"You know, for as long as I've known you, I think that's the quietest I've ever heard you," Jason teased.

The shift in his mood caused Avalon to fall completely silent this time. He was tired of the arguing, he didn't want the worry, the tension there anymore. If they were going to leave, they had to leave now. If they continued to argue about what they were and weren't going to do, they would just waste time. Jason glanced over at her and in the dim light, saw Avalon bite her lower lip as she looked down at her communicator. He knew she was mentally preparing herself to leave her little sister, Bailey, behind. She had raised her on her own, after a mix-up that resulted in Avalon and Bailey being homeless when they had been sent to live with relatives in Angel Grove from their home in Australia. But they were with the Cranstons now and Billy had proven time and time again that he could take care of her.

"Av…please…" Jason said.

Avalon let out a heavy sigh and took her communicator off her arm. Not looking at him—though Jason could sense the tense scowl and heavy glare on the orange ranger's face—she slapped the communicator into his palm. Jason placed her communicator with his own and his power morpher then Jason hesitated, putting his keys in the ignition.

_I hope this works, _Jason thought, finally pushing the lump down his throat. _No turning back now._

Closing his eyes, Jason placed the keys in the ignition and firmly twisted his hand, sealing his fate. With a roar, the engine came to life and he sped out of the neighborhood, onto the road, and soon the two were on the highway. He would stop when they were far enough away to mail the morpher and communicators back to Billy, then when enough time had passed they would call home and let their family and friends know they were ok.

But for the moment, it was two for the road.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm trying really hard not to care about chapter lengths as long as I get the point of the chapter across. That was one of my main problems when it came to years of writing stories/books/fan fics, the other being that I treated it more like a job than a hobby. So, I showed what I needed to show with this chapter, so it was a short one. Hope you guys liked it anyway.

~**Avalon**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 04**

* * *

Jason yawned, repositioning his hands on the steering wheel. He brought his left hand p to his face and rubbed his eyes, trying to refocus. They had been driving for hours and the sun was starting to rise. The traffic out of Angel Grove had tapered off so they were able to travel further than he had originally thought. Creeping out of his home city, he was, at first, afraid that they were going o be stopped at any minute. If his mother found the note sooner than he anticipated, then his father would catch wind of it, and he would be stopped faster than he could blink. Hopefully they didn't notice he hadn't come back, sometimes he was able to stay out late, even well after his parents went to sleep so it wasn't an issue. Hopefully it was the same situation here.

Jason glanced over at the gas gauge and then at the exit that was coming up. Thankfully it had a hotel sign on it. Checking over his shoulder, he merged into the turning lane and pulled the wheel over so he could safely turn around the bend. He rumbled through a green light and pulled into a hotel parking lot. Turning off the car, the shuddering woke up Avalon, she sat up straight and looked around, eyes wide.

"Relax, Avie, we're just at a hotel," Jason said, unbuckling himself.

Avalon rubbed her eyes then scowled at him. "Don't 'Avie' me, _Jay_," she warned. "Now's not the time." Despite the cold edge to her tone, Jason couldn't help but chuckle. No matter what she went through; monster attacks, problems in her own personal life, stress, she always had a tone that she was in charge of her own destiny and what was going on around her. He could admit that one of her flaws was the fact she could be manipulative, doing anything in her power to get her way, and she was used to getting her way. The fact that she told him to not call her 'Avie'—something he did as a brother like comfort-while still calling him 'Jay'—what she called him in return of her own sister like nickname-was humorous. Especially since he was technically in charge of this situation. He should have known she wouldn't give up her voice that easily.

She placed her hand on her wrist, where her communicator normally was. Jason could see her eyes widen and her head shot down, frantically looking for the piece of hardware that Billy had created for them. When remembrance settled through her body, her shoulders slumped and a heavy breath came from her mouth. She then unbuckled herself and pushed open the passenger side door, grabbing her bag on the way out and slammed the door shut behind her. As she walked around the back of Jason's car, she stopped and placed a finger on her chin. "Uh, how are you going to pay for a hotel if you don't want it to be traced back to you?"

"I've already thought about that," Jason reassured her. _I've thought about everything. _He waved a hand and the two walked into the hotel. He went up to the front desk and cleared his throat, deepening his voice as he did so. "Yes, I'd like to check in."

"And how would you like to pay for that?" the receptionist asked, turning away from his computer.

"Can I pay with frequent flier miles?"

* * *

Marissa Scott rolled onto her side and stretched out her arm. She expected the warmth of her husband's body lying next to her to warm her up, the feeling of his chest swelling and collapsing as he breathed peacefully next to her, the feeling of knowing that she was safe with him by his side. Her face twitched into a frown and she moved her arm across the sheets. The cold, cool sheets that sent shivers through the rest of her body. There was a draft in the covers. Marissa opened her eyes and found her husband wasn't lying in bed with her.

"Caine?" Her voice came out muffled, thick with sleep. Rolling in the opposite direction, she glanced at the clock and saw it was only seven in the morning. He didn't normally get up to go to work until nine. And even then, where else would he go? They took their showers at night, he didn't go to the gym until he got to work, and if there was any sort of meeting that he needed to go to, and then he would have told her ages ago. "Caine?" Marissa sat up and pushed her hair back out of her face, scanning the room.

The lights were off, but the watery sunlight trickled through the curtains around them, illuminating the particles of dust that floated through the room, somehow giving her an empty feeling. Much more so that she wasn't waking up to her husband like she expected.

Marissa sighed, running her hands through her dark hair once more, and then stiffened at the sound of footsteps below her. She smiled to herself. That was it, he was just downstairs, probably couldn't sleep, probably making breakfast. Gracefully climbing out of bed, Marissa reached over for her robe and slid it over her thin shoulders. Sliding her feet into her fluffy slippers she crossed the room to the door and walked down the hallway. Humming to herself she descended down the stairs to the bottom floor and, walking to the living room, she started to slow when she heard voices that were not her husband's, low and rumbling, coming from the kitchen.

"Caine?"

There was a brief pause and then sound of her husband cursing, before footsteps rapidly headed her way. Marissa blinked when her husband rounded the corner along with police officers, stern faced and stoic, making a human wall behind him. Marissa's eyes moved back to her husbands, she could feel herself starting to tremble. Her mother's intuition was going off at that moment; a cold wave rolled through her body, crashing against her bones, and sending a spray of dread. Caine Scott reached out and wrapped his arms around his wife, his dark eyes sorrowful, though in the depths held a fiery determination she seldom saw away from his office.

"Caine, what's going on?" Her voice came out shaky and timid. She cowered under the stares of the police officers that continued to watch the couple, waiting for the right time to speak up. Caine took in a deep breath and stepped back, away from his wife.

"Honey…Jason's gone," he said quietly.

And in that moment, Marissa Scott's world fell apart.

* * *

Jason turned a corner and started to walk back to the hotel. The wind that blew around him stung his cheeks, causing his eyes to water. His hands were starting to freeze, though they were put in the pocket of his jeans. Angel Grove never got that cold, but San Francisco usually did, with the chilling winds blowing off the bay and into the city. Thankfully he had thought ahead and taken a sweatshirt with him when he had left the hotel room. After checking into the hotel's guest rooms, Jason instructed Avalon to stay in her room before he had left the hotel, out the back door, to take a walk, clear his head, and figure out what the next move was going to be, where they were going to go next.

Jason held onto the hotel's card key in his hand, moving it through his fingers in a circle, almost subconsciously. His footsteps reverberated against the sidewalk as he went along, his own personal rhythm against the otherwise quiet world around him. It was early enough that not many cars were on the road, it was even kind of peaceful to be able to actually _hear_ his thoughts for once.

It was, well, freedom.

Not having the communicator and morpher on him was a bit of freedom for him, he didn't have to hear the sounds that let him know that Rita and Zedd were attacking. He didn't have to try and keep his secret. But on the other hand, he felt empty without it. Like something was different now that all of his powers were away from him, something was stripped away.

Jason was so into his thoughts he had no idea he was being followed. A long figure walked behind him, head bent, but clearly following the red ranger. If Jason had turned around, he would have stood up straight and continued t a leisurely place, moving his eyes back over to the teen, to give a questioning look just in case. He had this planned out since he had followed the teens from Angel Grove. Keeping back about four or five cars had really suited him, waiting a few seconds before merging into his lane was even better.

The man smiled to himself. _This was going to be easier than I thought. _He increased his pace, coming closer behind the hooded teen. _Just a little bit closer. _He stuck his hand into his pocket and when he pulled it out, a switchblade was at his side. Quietly, he pushed out the blade and pressed the knife against his side. Waiting for the perfect moment to—

All of a sudden, Jason whirled around and did a scissor kick, striking the man in the chest and face, catching him off guard. The man stumbled back; falling onto the ground, his knife skittering away from him and Jason turned and fled, racing back to the hotel as quickly as possible.

"Shit!" The man scrabbled for his knife and leapt to his feet, beating pavement after him. He could feel his muscles pushing and pulling as he forced himself to go faster, the wind whipping around his head, whistling in his ears. He watched as Jason pulled away from him, darting around a corner and running down an alley. "Fuck, this kid is faster than I thought!"

Jason looked over his shoulder as he continued to run, pumping his arms and legs as fast as he could go, and his instincts from being a ranger and from his years of martial arts training increased his reflexes, dodging trash cans and boxes that got in his way. Looking over his shoulder, Jason could see that the man was getting closer and started running faster, turning down another alley. His eyes shifted, scanning the buildings around him for any method of escape, any way to get out of sight as quickly as possible.

_Yes_! Jason darted towards a fire escape that rested on the side of an apartment building. Mind racing, body pumping with adrenaline, he jumped up in one fluid mention and grabbed the bottom rungs of the ladder. His fingers were so cold he was barely able to hang on; the momentum of his jump nearly swung him forward and off the ladder. He held on tightly, and scrambled up the fire escape, pressing his back against the cold, brick wall, gasping for air. Thankfully the sun wasn't up high enough for him to be seen, shrouding himself in the shadows around him. He crouched down, waiting to see if the man was coming closer to him. At the end of the alley, Jason could see the man approach the alley and look around frantically. After a few seconds, the man cursed loudly, throwing an arm up into the air and kicking at a nearby trashcan, denting it and sending it to the ground.

He took one last look into the alleyway and walked away, hands on his hips, taking long, angry strides.

Jason let out a sigh of relief, slumping back against the wall. "What was that?"

* * *

**A/N: **I'm sorry guys. I've been trying to get longer chapters out, but they don't seem to be working. I swear the next one will be longer. Oh and this chapter took forever to get put up because FFN was having a lot of problems with uploading and stuff, so that really hindered my inspiration.

Also, I'm going to refer to Jason's parents by their names and then do 'Mr. and Mrs. Scott' whenever the other rangers or someone of higher authority is talking to them.

~**Avalon**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 05**

* * *

Jason walked back into the hotel, looking every which way as he went. Every slight sound caused his muscles to tense, readying himself to race away out of someone's grasp or to spring forward and attack with all his might. The paranoia was starting to drive him crazy. Passing the receptionist at the front desk, he could feel his eyes follow him across the hotel lobby. He must have looked suspicious, having left the hotel only a couple of minutes before, ten at the most, to take a walk and coming back out of breath, covered in sweat, and whatever grime managed to rub off the walls onto his clothes. He continued walking at a brisk pace, hoping he wasn't drawing any more unneeded attention to himself. If he got caught now, that would be embarrassing as well as put everyone around him in danger. He had just been followed and potentially attacked by someone who clearly had been following him for a while.

Jason shook his head in frustration. How had he not noticed hat? His martial arts training had always taught him keep on his toes and to keep an eye out for danger. That was what being a power ranger had done for him as well, increasing his perception to events and his surroundings. What happened just proved that one false move would prove fatal in his plan. Jason went back to his room and swiped his card key, unlocking the door. He quickly slipped inside and closed the door behind him, locking it with every mechanism the door allowed. He then walked over to the door that connected his room to the one next door, pulled his open, and knocked frantically on the door.

He heard the sound of heavy, stomping footsteps coming towards the door. A second later the door was flung open and Avalon stood in front of him, one eye squinted shut and the other glaring at him, her dark eye flashing.

"You better by dying or else you need to have a _really_ good reason to wake me up form my nap," she said. Her eyes widened as she looked Jason up and down, taking in his appearance. Her face morphed from an expression of displeasure to concern. "Jay, what happened? I thought you were just going for a walk. You look like you fell in an oil slick." She turned on her heel and disappeared back into her room. Jason followed her, closing the door behind him.

"I went to go for a walk and when I was coming back, some guy was following me," Jason explained. He sat down in a chair that was resting by the desk. He let out a heavy sigh, dropping his forehead in his hands. "I don't know how long he had been following me, but he chased me down the block and-"

"You didn't lead him back here did you?" Avalon sifted through her bag and sat back on her heels, producing a first aid kid. She walked back over to her friend and placed it on the desk beside him before crossing her arms over her chest. Jason, his forehead still in his hands, shook his head. "Good, don't want you disappearing in the middle of the night, mate."

Jason smiled to himself. "You know, most people dragged into something like this would be afraid they'd be targeted more than you are."

"I'm a little more concerned with the receptionist thinking we're some kind of dysfunctional couple that's deciding to stay in connecting rooms when it's clear that we look like brother and sister more than anything else," Avalon replied. She chuckled a little bit, her laughter fading when Jason didn't respond to her joke. She dropped her hands into her lap, twisting her fingers together, her silver rings flashing in the lamp light. "Sorry, Jay, I was trying to make you laugh."

"I'm not really in a laughing mood," Jason admitted.

He sat back and opened the first aid kit, looking through the tubes and boxes inside. Twisting his mouth to the side, he thought for a moment before taking off his sweatshirt to examine his arms, chest and back. Twisting back and forth, he looked over his shoulder. There were a few scratches from slamming his back against the brick wall, and his muscles screamed from the effort from having gone from zero to sixty in a couple of seconds. Even the effort of throwing things out of his path and jumping up a fire escape hurt. The adrenaline of the chase must have finally worn off.

Jason glanced over at Avalon as the orange ranger sat in a seat across from him, crossing her legs at the knee. Resting an elbow on the table, she brought her hand up and lightly tapped her chin with her fingertips, showing off her black nail polish. Jason took in her freckled face and the curious expression as her dark eyes shifted back and forth.

"What?"

"Did you get a good look at the guy that was chasing you?" She asked after a minute. "You said that something happened back in Angel Grove where people saw you morph and power down." Jason nodded. "So they saw your real identity, yeah?" Jason nodded again. A flash of irritation rushed through his body. He had explained all of this before and he was just getting everything regurgitated back to him. There was nothing in what she was saying that was helping them or their situation in the slightest. "So was it someone from…wherever you were, that saw you?"

Jason paused in his search through the First-Aid kit. He looked straight at the wall in front of him. He hadn't thought of that. There were so many civilians there, but there were also the people that were orchestrating the whole thing. Jason's frown deepened, feeling the original surge of adrenaline when he had been singled out. Who would have thought that doing one quick errand for his mother would have gotten him stuck in such a predicament that would have gotten him in more trouble than staying in Angel Grove was worth? Was there a god chance that the person had wanted revenge and followed him? Yes, though he didn't think anyone would get to that point.

Who was he kidding? He was a power ranger! Now that people had seen that it was only a matter of time until it got to the government and there were men dressed in black suits standing in the doorway, waiting to take him away to be tested upon or maybe experimented. There would be lots of questions about who he was working with along with how they had gotten the powers. Who knew if anyone would believe him about Zordon and Alpha? It was hard for anyone to believe the monster attacks from Rita and Zedd weren't just a coincidence and that the city was being targeted for as long as he could remember.

_At least the rapid evacuation plan placed by the government is going well, _Jason thought sarcastically. He grabbed a roll of gauze and wrapped it around his right wrist. He had banged it against the ladder of the fire escape pretty hard in his haste to get up it.

"It's possible," Jason finally said. "Though I doubt it. I don't think anyone there would have been smart enough to know to follow me." He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and resting his arms over his eyes. "Or was smart enough to stake out my home if they followed us this far."

"What if it's someone that recognizes you from your Dad," Avalon continued. "Or your mum for that matter. Your Dad is, like, the biggest law firm in the city and he's put in the news and media with some of his bigger cases. So it's practically impossible that people don't know you." She waved a hand. "Plus your name is in the newspaper for practically every activity and club you're in as well as with all of your wins in martial arts and stuff." She chuckled. "I don't think I can go a day without one of your guys' names in the newspaper. Kim and gymnastics, Trini and the big sister program, Billy for his science"

"Your name is in there too, Avie," Jason pointed out.

"Yeah, for wanted criminals," Avalon joked. She reached out and placed a hand on Jason's knee, gently squeezing it. Her voice softened "Hey. Are you ok?"

"I will be," Jason replied after a moment. He dropped his arms from his face. His face twitched for a moment. "I'm just thinking about Mom and Dad. By now they should know that I'm gone…" his eyebrows shifted together. "The others should know too." He sat up straight and looked directly at Avalon. "Have you called Bailey yet?" Avalon's face fell before a hard mask replaced it and she shook her head. "Avie, don't do that," Jason warned her. "If you let her find out you know she's going to be really mad you didn't tell her first."

"Billy can do it," Avalon replied. She lifted her finger and pointed at him. "And don't get all big brother on me; I hate it when you do that."

"I thought I was your brother," Jason reminded her. Avalon tried to glare at him, but she shook her head, turning away for a moment. She knew what he was referring to, both of them did. Sometimes it was awkward to bring it up, most of the time they could make a joke out of it. He really was like her brother, he tried to look out for her as her height—being an even five feet—made her the prime target for anyone that wanted to try and mess with her.

"No, you're my dysfunctional significant other," Avalon said with a sweet smile. "Don't you remember? That's why we have two separate rooms." She rested her finger against her cheek looking thoughtful once more. "No, I haven't called her yet. I'm going to; I don't want the police or anyone else to be the first one to let her know that I ditched her."

"You didn't ditch her," Jason protested. "As usual, you're making sure she's safe and out of harm's way, which is admirable."

"Thanks for that Knight-In-Shining-Armor," Avalon said out of the corner of her mouth. Jason chuckled. "I mean, you save me from, what, two monsters, and you think that you have to protect me from every little thing that comes my way." She rolled her eyes.

"It was _three _monsters actually," Jason teased.

"Whatever." Avalon leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. "The fact of the matter is, if it ever gets to the point where morphing is needed, then I'm going to be the one saving you." She reached down and tapped her fingernail against her power coin as it glowed orange. Her eyebrows twitched for a moment and she uncrossed and re-crossed her legs. "Hopefully it doesn't get to that point."

"Really? Because I think watching a five foot midget fling themselves at whatever comes their way would be hysterical," Jason said. Avalon glared at him and gave him the finger. Jason laughed. "Thanks, I really needed that."

"Glad it was at my expense," Avalon replied. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and stared at it for a long minute, her hand hovering over the keypad. Jason took the time to stand up, pushing his chair back.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said, wanting to give her some time to herself. Avalon nodded and continued to stare at her cell phone. Jason left her room and slid back into his. He walked over to the windows and pulled the curtains shut and turned off the lights. Going over to his bag he looked through it for some clothes to change into. His hand brushed against the plastic bag that held his power morpher and his and Avalon's communicators. The further away they got from Angel Grove, he would find a city to stop and mail them back to one of the other rangers.

_Billy or Tommy would probably understand if I sent it to them, no questions asked, _Jason thought. _Kim would probably freak out, Zack would probably think something happened to us, and Trini would immediately try to figure out what happened. We just need time to get far enough away before anyone notices we're gone. _He pushed the plastic bag down to the bottom of his bag and pulled out some clothes. Tucking them under his arm he walked into the bathroom and closed and locked the door behind him. Jason dropped his clean clothes on the counter and leaned over into the bathroom, starting to run the water.

He shed himself of his clothes, pulled up the shower plug, and stepped into the bathtub. He closed his eyes, allowing the hot water to run over his skin. He ignored the initial sting and forced himself to stay under the stream of water, allowing it to run over his face and down his body, loosening his muscles and sending relaxing shivers down his spine. He ran his hands through his hair before clenching his hands into fists.

The water continued to run around him, the heat hugging him like that of a mother hugging her child. Jason suddenly thought about his Mom. She would be hysterical once they knew he was gone. She would probably collapse on the floor and scream and cry. Being her only child, he had doted on her as much as any loving mother would; making sure he had took advantage of every opportunity that was thrown his way. She went to all of his martial arts expos from when he first started to train, losing many of his matches, to winning just about every competition he entered. She was there for his successes and there for his fails. His father, on the other hand, was so busy that often times he wouldn't be able to make it to Jason's martial arts competitions. There were many soccer games he had been able to attend, but the martial arts competitions Jason had been more invested in. While he had been disappointed at first, he understood why his father couldn't attend.

He wondered what his father's reaction would be about the situation. Would he be angry? That was possible. He had connections with the police, many people he had helped over the years, some he owed favors to, some who owed favors to him. He would probably do everything I his power to find out what happened to his son. Considering he was Caine Scott's only son, it was a bigger deal than being Marissa's only son. When a father had their first child, they always wanted it to be the guy that would be able to follow the family's job, to be the one that would play football and basketball with. The one that held all of the father's pride and joy. If that was ripped away from two loving parents who knew what sort of things they would go through to get him back.

Gritting his teeth, he lashed out with his right fist, smashing it against the tile wall. He hit the wall a few times before smacking it with his open palm.

Lowering his head, he watched the shower water swirl down the drain.

* * *

Billy was awakened to the feeling of someone shaking him. His eyebrows furrowed together for a moment before he rolled over onto his other side. But the shaking continued. It couldn't have been an earthquake, the shaking wasn't consistent and the way it continued, seeing to originate from his bed rather than through the floors and walls was an indication that the epicenter of the earthquake would have been too close for comfort. That or his house would have fallen down.

"Billy! Wake. Up."

"Ow!"

Feeling a sharp slap on his back, Billy rolled back over and opened his eyes to see Bailey standing by his side, her hands on her hips and glaring down at him. Billy reached a hand up and rubbed his eyes. "Bailey, you know it's imperative to get at least eight hours of sleep." He glanced at the clock. "And I need another two if it's going to get to that point."

"It's not my fault you stayed up late working on who knows what," Bailey replied.

"I insist that-"

"Billy, Av's gone!" Bailey interrupted. Billy stared at her for a long moment; as if he didn't hear the words come from the technical advisor's mouth. "She's gone. She's not in her room. I've tried contacting her on her communicator but I'm not getting a response."

"Don't you think that you might be overreacting a little?" Billy tried to reassure her. "I mean, it's six in the morning, you know she likes to go to the beach and surf the morning break sometimes." He ran a hand through his hair before sitting up. "Maybe she's just getting back late."

"If that were the case, don't you think she'd, you know, have her board with her?" Bailey gave him a 'duh' look before it wilted to a scared expression. Billy could even see her eyes well up a little. That was the last thing he wanted, if she was going to start crying, then things were really serious. "She's gone. I'm telling you. Her board's still in our room. Billy, something might have happened. Rita and Zedd might have done something."

Billy looked like he wanted to point out that if Rita and Zedd were indeed behind this, everyone would have known as they would have all been woken up to be teleported to the Command Center if not woken up by their communicators going off. He decided not to when he took another glance at Bailey's face. Scaring the young girl would make things that much worse than it already was. If things were already bad.

"Bailey, relax." Billy held up a hand and sat up. He yawned for a long moment, stretching his arms over his head, using the time to think of the most rational reason as to why the orange ranger wasn't there. Wait a minute. "Didn't she come home last night? I thought you saw her…"

"I thought she might have slept in the basement or something," Bailey admitted after a minute. "I thought she was with you guys at the movie night."

"She was," Billy said. His eyebrows lowered. "Jason said she was going to take her home after I decided I would walk Trini. Your guys' light was off when I got back. Didn't you get home before I did?" Bailey nodded. "So she wasn't here when you got here?"

"I went straight to sleep and she wasn't there," Bailey said. She slapped a hand on her waist, her voice dripping with massive amount of attitude. "And like I said, I thought that when you guys got back she was sleeping in the basement so she wouldn't wake me up. So I checked the basement, no blankets or pillows." Bailey reached forward and grabbed onto his wrists, shaking him. "What if something happened?"

"Bay, calm down," Billy repeated. If only he could take his own advice, he already felt his heart rate start to increase over its normal resting rate. He tried to push down the panic that was starting to rise in his throat. "I'll just use the communicator." He brought his wrist to his mouth and pressed a button on the side. "Av, its Billy." He didn't get a response. Billy frowned and tried again. "Av, you there?" He still didn't get a response. Billy turned to Bailey, who made a whimpering sound and started to bounce up and down on her toes. "Hold on." Billy pressed the button on the side of the communicator. "Jase, you there?"

He then frowned, dropping his arm. "Jase isn't answering either," he said. "That's really strange, he took her home last night and he's not answering either."

"Do you think something happened with him too?" Bailey didn't seem as worried this time. Billy guessed it was because there was a good chance that the two were together and she knew that Jason would do everything he could do make sure nothing happened to her. Billy wasn't sure if that was a good thing. If Rita and Zedd caught wind that two of the rangers were separated from everyone else they would be targeted just as easily if one of them were alone.

"I'm not sure," Billy said slowly. He ran a hand over his face. "Let me get dressed and meet me downstairs."

Bailey nodded and hurried out of Billy's room. He could hear her footsteps heading downstairs. Swinging his feet out of bed, he went over to his dresser and grabbed a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt. He quickly pulled them on and grabbed his cell phone from atop his dresser and slipped out of his room. He glanced down the hallway. His parents' door was still closed, they were still asleep. Billy then crept across the hall to the room Avalon and Bailey shared and poked his head inside. His eyes scanned the room, both sides were as clean as they usually were, everything was in place.

Bailey's laptop was sitting on her desk along with a video camera and notebook. Her shoes were resting by her bed in a straight line, clothes neatly put away. Billy looked over at Avalon's side of the room, it was as clean as Bailey's, everything put away. A pair of shoes were resting by her bed, surfboard and guitar leaning against the wall, backpack on the corner of her four post bed, school books resting on her desk. His eyes moved to the other wall, it was half covered with pictures, all neatly taped to the wall. Moving closer Billy recognized them as pictures of them and their friends; some by themselves, in pairs, triplets, and in groups. The developed photos lined the walls to create a perfect rectangle; photos turned this way and that to fall into place with each other. As his eyes continued to move around the rectangle, he noticed that there were a few that seemed to be off. Like one had been taken away and others had been moved to cover the space.

Turning on his heel, Billy continued to scan the room, noticing her wallet wasn't in the place she normally left it. Her phone also wasn't there and by quickly looking in her closet, some of her clothes were missing. Something glittery caught his eye by the window and he walked over, squinting against the bright light reflecting off of something. Billy's mouth twisted to the side as he reached out and picked up a thin, silvery necklace. He immediately recognized it as Avalon's, knows she usually didn't take it off. Billy jammed the necklace into his pocket and left the room, going back downstairs.

"You're right," he said as he went into the living room, sitting on the armchair across from Bailey, who sat on the couch, hugging her chest. "She's not here. She must have gone somewhere because she took some clothes and stuff too." He crossed his arms then lowered his voice. "I don't want you to freak out…" he said slowly. Bailey nodded, hugging the pillow tighter. "I think she may have left in a hurry because she didn't remember to take her necklace."

"So if she has some clothes, then she willingly went somewhere," Bailey pointed out. As she let out a sigh of relief, Billy let out one he didn't realize he had been holding. That was true, if she had been forced somewhere, there wouldn't be enough time to get anything. "So the only question is whether or not she's with Jason, since he's not answering his communicator either."

At that moment, Billy's phone started to ring. He jumped for a moment, fumbling with his phone, nearly dropping it. One he recovered, he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Smurf, it's me."

"Av!" Billy sat up straight. He waved Bailey over and she jumped on the couch next to him, pressing her ear against the phone to listen as well. "Are you ok? We just saw that you weren't here. What's going on?"

"Calm down," Avalon said gently, yet firmly. "I'm fine. I figured that someone would realize I was gone at this point. And if you haven't gotten the news about this either, I'm with Jason. Both of us are fine." Billy's shoulders slumped even further in relief.

Bailey grabbed onto the phone and pressed it against her ear. "Where are you? Why'd you leave without saying where you were going?" Billy grabbed the phone back from her, but angled it so that the two of them could hear clearly.

"Would you have tried to stop me if I said where I was going?" Avalon replied.

"Yes," Billy and Bailey harmonized.

"That's why," Avalon said. Her voice then lowered and the two could hear the warmth in her voice. "Thanks for worrying, but you really don't have to. Jason and I are fine. And as for why we left, all I can tell you at the moment is that Jason really needed to get out of Angel Grove and he couldn't wait. If there was anything any of us could do, then he wouldn't have left. But there's something else you need to know."

"What?" Billy said. He tightened his grip on the phone. "What's going on?"

"When we get far enough away, Jase is going to send you his power morpher and our communicators," she continued, edging out Billy who opened his mouth to protest. "I know it's a dumb idea, but with what happened, it can't be risked. He was seen morphing and he can't risk it."

Billy nodded, swallowing thickly. "Yeah, I get it," he said slowly. "I understand. Listen, if there's anything we can do around here, let us know, ok?"

"No problem, Smurf."

"And stay in touch," Billy continued.

"I will. Later."

"Bye."

Bailey's eyes widened when Billy hung up the phone. "Aren't you going to stop them? Why don't you try and use the chip in Av's phone to trace them or something?"

Billy moved his jaw to the side for a long moment. "Because for as long as I've know Jason, if there was a reason that he decides to do something without telling the rest of us, then there's a good reason for it." He ran a hand through his hair, his light eyes shifting for a moment. "I need to tell the others. Let's get to the Command Center and let them know what's going on."

"Ok, if you think that's best," Bailey sighed. She and Billy pressed the teleportation buttons on their communicators and teleported to the Command Center. Once they arrived, Bailey turned and hurried over to Alpha, who let out a cry of surprise when they arrived. "Alpha, we need the other rangers here now." She turned back to Zordon. "Zordon, can you get a good reading on Avalon and Jason's power?"

"The fact that Jason is willingly parting with his power morpher is going to make his power significantly less than it was before," Zordon said. "He will still have the Power within him and some of the abilities he had before, however he will not be able to morph. Unfortunately morphing isn't our main problem at the moment."

"You've heard about it, then?" Billy said, placing his hands on his hips. He started to pace back and forth. A movement on the viewing globe caught his attention and he watched as Mr. and Mrs. Scott's images appeared on screen. The two were sitting at the kitchen table, talking quietly to each other, a couple of police officers standing behind them. "So his parents know?"

"They're aware that Jason is missing but as it stands, a missing person's report can't come out for another twenty-four hours," Zordon explained. "Our biggest worry is that he was seen using his powers and that his secret identity has been revealed."

At that moment, Tommy, Kimberly, Jason, Zack, and Trini all appeared in the Command Center, dressed in their pajamas. Kimberly pulled her robe tight around her and looked around at all of her friends, her face immediately turning to one of concern. "I just got the news about Jason," she said. "Guys, he's missing. His parents called my Mom and Dad, asking if I've seen him."

"Av's gone too," Billy said then explained the situation as he knew about it. He decided not to mention that she had left her necklace behind and had, potentially, taken a picture off her wall, not sure if it would help them.

"So what are we going to do?" Zack crossed his arms over his chest. "I mean, if they saw Jason morph, how are we going to keep it from getting to the rest of us?"

"That's something we haven't thought of yet," Alpha admitted. "We haven't had it happen before."

"You're going to have to lie low for a while, rangers," Zordon added. All eyes turned to him, different degrees of surprise written on them. "If Rita and Zedd's monsters attack, you're going to have to try and get rid of them as quickly as possible."

"What if we drove them away from Angel Grove?" Trini suggested. She chewed her lower lip for a moment, exchanging a glance with Kimberly. The two girls were, arguably, the closest ones to Jason out of them. "Put together the Megazord and lead them to another location. That way no one will get hurt, fewer buildings will be destroyed, and we wouldn't have the risk of the rest of our identities being revealed."

"Be that as it may, it's still a better idea if you try even harder to keep from using your powers to morph until the more opportune time," Zordon said.

"What can we do in the mean time?" Tommy pressed.

Zack took a step forward, placing a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "Everyone relax," Zack said, holding up his hands in a defensive position. "Jason and Avalon are ok wherever they are. And Rita and Zedd haven't seem to notice they're gone yet." He rubbed his hands together. "Now there's a good chance we're going to be questioned by the police, so we should help out the best we can."

"If we get questioned, how can we talk to them what we know without revealing our powers?" Kimberly pressed. She continued to chew her lower lip, her jaw trembling slightly. Her eyes were misty and she hugged herself tighter and tighter as the seconds passed.

"There's only one thing we can do," Bailey said. She looked over at Billy and he nodded back at her, as if reassuring her that she was doing the right thing. Were they really doing the right thing? Billy wasn't sure. He never thought there would be a time where this would come up. They had been so careful over the years, giving as many excuses as they could whenever the time came. Billy even worked on new inventions for the rangers in his own garage and had managed to keep it a secret. Theoretically speaking he knew it was bound to happen at some point, he just never thought it would come so soon. "Lie."

Zack glanced at her. "You're really starting to sound like you're sister." He slowly shook his head. "And, honestly, I'm not sure I like it."

Billy didn't like it either, but it seemed like it was their only option at the moment.

* * *

"How's Project Butterfly progressing?"

Keyboards clacked all around the center as men and women in suits and jackets walked through rows and rows of computers. A low murmur filled the room, clipboards were passed back and forth, and information was sent back and forth. On the largest screen mounted up on the wall in the furthest wall in the room was a picture of a teenage boy with dark hair, dark eyes and a serious expression on his face, arms crossed over a red t-shirt. Next to him was the figure of a superhero dressed completely in red and white, a hand thrown up in the air.

Everyone knew the powers rangers, the seven multi-colored super hero that saved Angel Grove on numerous occasions. What no one knew was the identity of those superheroes that had appeared those three years ago with that strange earthquake, its epicenter still not having been completely realized. No one knew if those superheroes were helpful or hurtful to the city. The constant monster attacks and constant need for citywide evacuations had increased since their appearance. Still, what was their source of power? How were they able to call out those mechanized beasts that came together to defeat the monsters?

A forty-year old man known as Evan Peterson was sitting at one of the computers, glasses perched on the tip of his nose. He was the head of the classified information titled Project Butterfly. He was the one that held all of the information they gathered so far. Evan pushed back away from his computer and looked up at his partner, Nate Manning, the one that had received the information on at least one of their identities.

"So far we know he's eighteen, has six best friends, relationships with those are unknown. Not sure if he has any girlfriends though he seems to like to chase the girls a lot. His parents are a lawyer and a teacher. No other kids and they all seem to be very happy." Evan's eyebrows cocked up. "Can't be too happy, their son's double life is going to be exposed."

"And soon, so will all the others," Nate agreed.

Evan smiled and nodded.

Hopefully with this kid, Jason Lee Scott, they could figure it all out.

* * *

**A/N: **Finally! A longer chapter! I hope you guys liked it. I hope to have the pace of the story pick up soon. There will be a few fights, but it's not the basis of the story, so Rita and Zedd will appear a few times. My chapters will have multiple points of view, so you'll see a lot of characters in one chapter rather than having the pace of the story slow down with only one view like some of the recent ones did.

I do have a plan with Jason's powers though, even if he doesn't have his morpher on him. With what I have planned with it so far, it makes sense, but I may have to work out a few more details. Anyway, let me know what you think.

~**Avalon**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 06**

* * *

"Guys, what are we doing to do?" Kimberly leaned back in her seat at the Youth Center. Her face was illuminated with the sunlight that trickled through the window she was seated by. However, the sunlight didn't seem to increase her normally sunny disposition. "Jase must have felt he was in some real danger if he thought the best thing to do was to just up and leave."

"I don't know if there's anything we can do, Kim," Tommy said under his breath. He shifted in his seat, looking around the youth center. Everything seemed to be going on with Jason, whether or not he was there. Some people were lifting weights, others were running on the treadmill, some were sitting around, drinking smoothies and eating whatever Ernie had brought out to them. They didn't seem bothered by anything. "If Jason had to leave, he had to leave."

"But did he have to take Av with him?" Zack clenched his hands into fists. "If he felt he was in danger, then he put her in danger too." He shook his head then slammed his fist on the table. "I can't believe he was seen morphing! We've been doing this for so long and we've never had that be a problem before."

"Hey may not have had a choice," Trini reminded him. "We don't know the details about what happened. All we know is that he's been seen, so we need to lie low for a while." She laced her fingers, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table. Her eyes turned downcast. "And with the police getting involved, it makes things more complicated than we would have ever thought it would be."

"What do you think is gonna happen with Alpha and Zordon?" Kimberly tucked her hair behind her ears. "Who knows how long people may be tracking us after this, wondering how Jason got his powers and what the rest of us have to do with it. You know we're going to be the next ones looked at because we're with him all the time." Her eyes quickly shifted skywards. "I can't help but wonder what his parents are thinking."

"What do you mean?" Zack's eyebrows lowered.

"What if they think that we have something to do with it? His disappearance?" Kimberly replied.

A hushed silence fell over the group. None of them had thought of that. The idea of their powers being found out was scary enough, but being put on display for the whole world to know was another level of fear. It was a dark cloud hanging over their heads, a shadow following their every move, the boogeyman that watched them sleep at night.

"Guys!" Billy rushed over to the group with Bailey hot on his heels. The worry that was etched onto Billy's face immediately sent the other rangers into tense stances as well. What could it be this time? If Billy's expression was of any indication, things were about to get worse. "I got something from Jason."

He swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing. Sitting down, Billy placed a package on the table. He upended it and his morpher and communicator, the red band sparkling, slid out along with Avalon's orange communicator.

Kim gasped, moving her hands over her mouth. She exchanged a glance with Trini before reaching out a shaky hand to take the morpher. It felt cool against her fingers, the familiar bumps of the power coin foreign against her tips as it made the shape of a Tyrannosaurs Rex. If he had to give up his morpher, things were worse than she originally thought.

"I know," Bailey murmured, watching Kim's reaction. "If he didn't send them back, if they're being followed or looked for, it wasn't going to help them. Thankfully, Av still has hers so it might not be a problem."

"Unfortunately, this may impede the search," Billy added. "Considering Zordon and Alpha would have a harder time teleporting them if needed." He thought for a moment then shook his head. "I don't know if it would be wise for them to be teleported, not if there's an official police investigation going on. There'd be too many complications."

"So what are we go gin to do now?" Trini asked.

Tommy sighed, shaking his head. His ponytail flopped over his shoulder, though he did nothing to push it away. "We wait."

* * *

"Mr. and Mrs. Scott, there's something that we need to tell you," Office Puckett said as he walked into the interrogation room that was being used to hold the couple. He glanced over at Caine, the muscles that bulged on the intimidating man was an interesting juxtaposition to the fear that resided in his eyes.

Officer Puckett didn't know many men that would continue to hold up a strong front whenever there was an investigation and their kids were involved. He had been the head of many cases of missing children and seen grown men reduced to hysterics over their kids' disappearance.

This was something different though, something that would turn the city of Angel Grove and everyone that inhabited it upside down. He shifted his grip on the bag that was being held behind his back. Evidence; the tape. It was going to be run all over the news before they could do anything to stop it. Though, he had had been just as surprised when he saw the content of the tape.

The kid was only eighteen years old and considering how long the Power Rangers had been around, he had been acting as a service to the city longer than anyone would have thought. While more teenagers would rather be with their friends, he was risking his life day after day.

"Have you heard anything about Jason?" Marissa asked, clasping her hands together. "Run the plates on his car?"

"We have, but it's come back with some interesting news," Officer Puckett said. He tilted his head, giving a stern glance. "The plates that we ran have come back registered to a motorcycle. The motorcycle that, as we have seen, is registered under Mr. Scott's name, as well as still being in your garage."

Caine let out a curse, slapping his hands on the table he was sitting on top of. The wood was cool under his palms; his fingers were damp with nervous moisture releasing a shiny streak as he moved them along the mahogany. Caine let out a slow chuckle.

His son was smarter than he had anticipated. It gave him a bit of hope. If he willingly switched the plates, then he had left rather than have been forced to leave. It was a bit of a relief, though still didn't quench the worry that rolled over him in waves.

"We've got squad cars coming in and out of Angel Grove to keep an eye out for his vehicle," Officer Puckett continued. He cleared his throat. "That wasn't what I came to talk to you about." He pulled the bag out from behind his back. "We have gotten some news that may piece some things together in this whole mystery." He handed the tape over to the couple. "Unfortunately, what's on it will hit the air before we can stop it."

"What is it?" Marissa gingerly took the bag and glanced at the tape. Her dark eyes lifted towards Officer Puckett in obvious confusion. Her eyes were damp, tear tracks fresh on her face. As the seconds passed, tears started to well up in her eyes once more, like crystals.

"Ma'am, Sir," Officer Puckett said. He hesitated for a moment. He was going against his orders, telling them what was on the tape. But he had a son himself, around Jason's age. Part of the law or not, he would want to know what was on that tape. It was his duty as a father. "I know this will be hard to believe, but if that tape hasn't been tampered with, then the reason that your son had to leave so quickly, may have to do with the fact that he's a Power Ranger."

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the short chapter. I had hit a bit of writer's block as well as had school work get in the way. Oh the woes of a college senior. I hope you guys are still interested in the story, I have plenty of ideas for it, working around my other stories and my school schedule has pushed this back a little. I'll have _All the Blame _updated soon.

For those wonder why I've been able to do long chapters for _All The Blame _consistently and not this, it's because I have most of the chapters to _All The Blame_ written out long before I post them.

If you have a twitter, follow me AvalonAvenue.

~**Avalon**


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